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Marc L. Abrams

Member

[email protected]

+1.212.692.6775

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Marc is an esteemed litigator with over two decades of experience guiding insurers, reinsurers and brokers through high value, high stakes litigations and arbitrations. Marc is equally skilled at representing insurance and reinsurance clients in court and before US and international arbitration panels. He has successfully taken dozens of matters to trial and has resolved many more on favorable terms through motion practice or settlement. Because of Marc’s unique blend of expertise - which combines a deep proficiency in the (re)insurance business with the intricacies of courtroom and arbitration practice - clients frequently turn to Marc to guide them through their most challenging disputes. As he is able to get up to speed quickly given his facility with a diverse range of insurance and reinsurance products, Marc is frequently called on to step in and take over trial proceedings or to provide a second look when clients need a fresh strategy to resolve a matter favorably.

Marc is committed to finding efficient and practical solutions for clients in pressurized situations and is highly focused on project management and cost predictability, to meet the business objectives of each client and on each project. For over a decade, Chambers USA has recognized Marc as a leading attorney in insurance and reinsurance dispute resolution, with clients praising his “tremendous expertise and a working knowledge of reinsurance law," his versatility in handling “any kind of case," and noting that he is “creative in finding solutions, very good in court and very practical” while taking a “very, very client-centered approach to reinsurance law.”

Marc is also deeply involved with ARIAS US - the premier US organization dedicated to enhancing insurance and reinsurance arbitrations for US and international clients - and currently serves as its President, where he and other industry leaders are responsible for developing and enhancing arbitration products and defining the philosophical direction of the organization. Marc also co-chairs other ARIAS US Committees including the Education Committee (which he has co-chaired since 2015), and the Strategic Planning Committee. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s International Insurance and Reinsurance Committee.

Prior to joining Mintz, Marc worked at two boutique firms as well as an international firm specializing in insurance and reinsurance disputes.

Experience

Representative Reinsurance Matters

  • Successfully represented certain London Market Company Reinsurers in a lengthy litigation proceeding in federal court arising out of a cedent’s $120 million settlement with its insured resolving environmental contamination exposure. The matter involved complex issues of allocation, enforcement of coverage periods, and application of choice of law.
  • Represented a regional life insurer in a reinsurance arbitration against an international reinsurer involving reporting procedures for the cession of premium and presentation of claims.
  • Represented a US based liability insurer in several complex reinsurance disputes in New York state and federal courts involving recoveries in excess of $50 million and defenses of allocation and notice.
  • Represented US and UK based ceding companies and reinsurers in dozens of reinsurance arbitrations involving issues of notice, allocation, accumulation of loss, defense expenses, declaratory judgment fees and other coverage defenses and claims.
  • Represented a UK based reinsurer in a $30 million reinsurance arbitration dispute involving rescission of a workers’ compensation program.
  • Represented a US based captive insurer in a reinsurance arbitration against a market of European insurers and ultimately confirmed a $220 million recovery arising out of Mississippi flood losses.
  • Represented a UK based insurer in a reinsurance arbitration enforcing our client’s “cut through” rights under a fronting arrangement.
  • Represented a Latin American reinsurer in a dispute with a US Insurer arising out of a managing agency agreement
  • Represented a US insurer in a reinsurance arbitration involving a non-performing self-insured retention
  • Represented a US insurer in a reinsurance arbitration involving the “forced” commutation of a workers’ compensation program.
  • Represented a US reinsurer in federal district court and appeals court involving challenges to its claims handling practices.
  • Represented cedents and reinsurers in a series of reinsurance arbitrations involving long term care and healthcare reinsurance products.

Representative Insurance Matters

  • Represented a US based insurer is a series of environmental coverage disputes against a “Fortune 500” company arising out of the contamination of the Kalamazoo River and various other sites. The disputes involved in excess of $50 million in umbrella coverage.
  • Represented a major insurer in a series of “Bermuda Form” arbitrations arising out of the insured’s settlement of a dispute commenced by a former high level executive.
  • Represented a South Carolina-based insurer in a series of disputes with another insurer arising out of an E&O Policy.
  • Represented a US broker in Delaware litigation arising out of the placement of a complex D&O program.
  • Represented a US broker in litigation based in New York court arising out of the placement of liability insurance program for a large real estate developer.
  • Represented a major life insurance company in class action disputes concerning marketing practices for its variable annuity products.
  • Advised a state department of insurance in connection with potential litigation between it and a regulated healthcare insurer.
  • Represented the Lloyd's market in major subrogation litigation proceedings in various US jurisdictions. These matters include routine recoveries arising from contractual provisions as well as more complex matters including a recovery arising out of the largest fire in New Orleans history prior to Katrina as well as a recovery arising out of the theft of tens of millions of dollars of bank assets in a Latin American country.

Representative Commercial Dispute Matters

  • Represented a biotech company in New York litigation proceedings stemming from a disputed loan transaction in excess of $80 million
  • Represented a healthcare company in a dispute arising out of a self-funded medical coverage program.
  • Represented a consulting company in New York litigation proceedings involving the restructuring of a mono-line financial guarantor.
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News & Press

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BOSTON – Mintz has earned top rankings in the 2023 edition of Legal 500 United States guide. The firm is recognized in 14 practice categories, and 59 individual attorneys are also recognized in the guide, some in more than one category.
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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.
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Mintz partner and Massachusetts lawyer Julie Korostoff is one of 49 attorneys recognized as “Leaders in Their Fields” by the 2018 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide. Chambers named Korostoff a “Recognized Practitioner” in Technology.
Firm’s National Healthcare Practice, NY Corporate/M&A and Litigation: General Commercial Among Newest Rankings
The 2015 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide names 52 Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.  attorneys as “Leaders in Their Fields.”
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Events & Speaking

Speaker
Jun
20
2023

IntAP Technical Meeting & General Meeting of Members

International Alliance of Asbestos and Pollution Reinsurers

Munich, Germany

Conference Reference Image
May
7
2020
Panelist
Nov
6
2019

The A-Team: We Love It When Your Arbitration Comes Together

New York State Bar Association

Hilton Tokyo 6-6-2 Nishi-Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan 160-0023

Moderator
Oct
4
2019

ARIAS U.S. 2019 Fall Conference

AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society

Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, NY

Speaker
Mar
21
2019

Insurance – A Guide to a Changing Legal Landscape

International Bar Association

The Landmark London, London, England

Moderator
Mar
13
2019

Arias US: Cutting Edge Issues in Insolvency & Run-off

1650 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 & 242 Trumbull Street Hartford, CT 06103

Moderator
Nov
9
2018

ARIAS US 2018 Fall Conference

Ethics Session: Vacating an Award: Lessons from the ICA v. Underwriters Decision

New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge - 333 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Co-chair
Nov
1
2017

2017 ARIAS-U.S. Fall Conference

ARIAS-U.S.

New York, NY

Speaker
Speaker
Jun
25
2015

2nd National Forum on Insurance Allocation

American Conference Institute

Chicago, IL

Speaker
May
8
2015
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Recognition & Awards

  • Chambers USA: New York – Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer (2010 – 2023) 

  • Who's Who Legal: Insurance & Reinsurance (2017 - 2021)

  • Business Today: Top 10 Influential New York Insurance Dispute Resolution Lawyers (2023)

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Involvement

  • President, AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society ("ARIAS US")
  • Education, Forms & Procedures & Arbitrators Committee Co-Chair, AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society ("ARIAS US")
  • Co-Chair of the NY Bar, International Insurance/Reinsurance Committee
  • Advisory Board Member, Self Help Africa
  • Committee Member, New York State Bar Association, International Section
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